Letter suggests Manning wanted to make history

By DAVID DISHNEAU and PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press

6:10 PM, Dec 19, 2011

Copyright Associated Press

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) - An Army witness says the intelligence analyst blamed for the largest-ever leak of U.S. secrets boastfully declared he was changing history in a letter adjoining some data he allegedly sent to WikiLeaks.

Digital-crimes investigator David Shaver said Pfc. Bradley Manning's data card contained almost 500,000 classified battlefield reports. It also had something akin to a cover letter.

The letter stated, quoting: "This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of 21st century asymmetric warfare."

The prosecution and defense sparred Monday over forensic evidence linking the 24-year-old Oklahoma native to WikiLeaks' release of classified U.S. diplomatic and military cables. The hearing was adjourned in the afternoon and will resume Tuesday.